And Spitzer Wonders, Still He Wonders, Who’ll Drain the Rain

It was a rough day for the MTA. And at a press conference this afternoon Eliot Spitzer revealed just how bad. The subway system is designed to drain up to an inch and a half of rainfall, he said; this storm inundated it with three inches in a frenzied hour. That made for what Spitzer said “is supposed to be a highly unusual event” — except for one thing: It’s the third time this year that’s happened. The puddling problem wasn’t this morning’s only calamity — MTA executive director Lee Sander later cited a downed tree near Stillwell Avenue and smoke in tunnels — but it was the most severe. At the governor’s insistence, the MTA will take 30 days, or thereabouts, to research how it might bolster the drains. When it’s announced, expect a round of wrangling among MTA leaders, state legislators, unions, and the rest. And perhaps buy yourself a kayak. —Alec Appelbaum